Review of the Quality Inn Merchants Drive I-75 in Knoxville, TN

Quality Inn Merchants Drive
I-75 Exit #108 Merchants Drive
117 Cedar Lane
Knoxville, TN 37912
Phone: (865) 342-3701
Fax: (865) 342-3702
Online: www.qualityinn.com
Cost: $64.49 2 adults, queen sized bed with AAA discount.

When Hubby and I were having some work done on the parsonage we needed a place to stay overnight. The Quality Inn Merchants Drive is relatively close to home. There are several hotels at this exit. Choosing one is tough.

Ultimately we decided on the Quality Inn Merchants Drive location listed above. If you are traveling north on I-75 take exit 108. You are about 2 blocks away from the hotel. Turn right at the traffic light on the end of the exit ramp. Go through the next traffic light and look to your left. You'll find this hotel tucked back off the road behind O'Charley's restaurant.

What I liked
The room was reserved by entering the Choice Hotels website after clicking through iGive.com. It's always an easy process to reserve online through Choice Hotels. This time was no exception. In a few clicks my room was booked, guaranteed for late arrive and the confirmation sailed into my email inbox.

The Quality Inn Merchants Drive hotel also participates in Choice Privileges. This is their frequent stay program. Once enrolled, guests can rack up points. These are good for free hotel nights or other rewards.

Parking
A large onsite lot provides plenty of free parking. It seemed to be well lighted. I was happy with that.

Check in
This was as smooth and easy as they come. The staff was professional. When we declared the service dog the clerk asked if an upstairs room would be ok. He apologized that the downstairs rooms were full. There were no problems with check-in. We paid cash. He did not need to authorize our credit card nor did he ask for registration.

Room and amenities
At the Quality Inn Merchants Drive you enter into the rooms from the outside. Doors are secured by a card reader. It's not my favorite but the place was clean and well lighted.

Everything about the room was clean and well maintained. We travel frequently. I cannot say that we've stayed in hotel with a more comfortable bed in a very long time.

Our big queen sized bed nearly filled the room. . It was almost like sleeping on a cloud. Getting around the room was a tight squeeze. The comfortable bed and steady hot shower almost made up for the lack of space.

The TV was easily viewed from the bed. This was a combination of a small room and large screen. Hubby enjoyed the TV tremendously.

Online access is very important to me. The internet at the Quality Inn Merchants Drive had a strong steady signal. There were no worries about getting bumped off of the wireless service.

Our room overlooked the pool. It looked to be well tended. I kept wishing for my swimsuit. Too bad it was tucked in the drawer at home!

In the morning, we enjoyed the continental breakfast. This took place in the downstairs lobby from 6:00 am '" 9:00 am. There were hard boiled eggs, fluffy waffles and the regular offerings of milk, juice, coffee and cereal. Everything looked clean. All the items seemed fresh.

What I didn't like.
There were two negatives about the Quality Inn Merchants Drive was the small size of the room. It made using the room awkward. More space would have been nice.

Another negative is a listing on their website. It states that this hotel is near the University of Tennessee. Near is relative. From this exit it takes me about 20 minutes to get to the campus and begin my parking space search.

Bottom line.
The only regret is that we couldn't stay longer. Next time we need a room in the area I'm staying here. Everything added up to an excellent stay.

Source:
Personal Experience
Choice Hotel website
Quality Inn Merchants Drive
Quality Inn website